1. The
manner in which one
bears or conducts one's self; mien; behavior; carriage. "I
know him by
his bearing." (Shak)
2. Patient endurance; suffering
without complaint.
3. The
situation of one object, with
respect to other, such
situation being supposed to have a
connection with the object, or
influence upon it, or to be influenced by it; hence, relation; connection. "But of
this frame, the bearings and the ties, The strong connections,
glorious dependencies." (Pope)
4. Purport; importance; intended significance; aspect.
5. The act, strength, or
time of producing or giving birth; as, a
wood in
full bearing; a
wood past bearing. "[His mother] in
travail of
his bearing." (R. Of Gloucester)
6. That
part of any
member of a building which rests
upon its supports; as, a lintel or
beam may have four inches of
bearing upon the wall. The portion of a support on which anything rests.
Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the
beam has twenty foots of
bearing between its supports.
7.
The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its support, collar, or boxing; the journal. The part of the support on which a journal rests and rotates.
8. Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms commonly in the pl. "A carriage covered with armorial bearings." (Thackeray)
9. The situation of a distant object, with regard to a ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter, etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W. N. W. Pl. The widest part of a vessel adown the plank-sheer.
The line of flotation of a vessel when properly trimmed with cargo or ballast. Ball bearings. See Ball. To bring one to his bearings, to bring one to his senses. To lose one's bearings, to become bewildered. To take bearings, to ascertain by the compass the position of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or seat to other; to ascertain one's position by reference to landmarks or to the compass; hence, to ascertain the condition of things when one is in trouble or perplexity.
Synonym: Deportment, gesture, mien, behavior, manner, carriage, demeanor, port, conduct, direction, relation, tendency, influence.
Source: Websters Vocabulary